


Accolades and Ohana Part 7

by daffodil729



Series: Accolades and Ohana [7]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 10:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17723330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daffodil729/pseuds/daffodil729
Summary: As always, any recognizable characters are not my own.





	Accolades and Ohana Part 7

**Author's Note:**

> As always, any recognizable characters are not my own.

Tuesday Night

The SEALs had argued over who would stay the night. Yes, there would be plenty of shifts to go around in the coming weeks, but no one wanted to leave tonight, and everyone wanted to be in that room. Steve's condition felt too precarious, too unstable to the friends and family gathered at the hospital, and no one was comfortable with the thought of leaving. There wasn't a single person who was willing to go home now, not when Steve was so sick. Waiting room catnaps and hospital coffee would do just fine until his condition stabilized a bit more.

Junior sat in a chair in the corner of the hospital room watching over his commanding officer. He was thankful he'd won the argument by default—Callie had asked for him. Junior looked over at the couch where Callie and Danny were both asleep. It was understood that Danny would be staying for the duration. Junior liked to call the two men 'mom and dad' sometimes when they bickered, but it was all in good fun. He was envious of the friendship the partners had. Though they could be at each other's throats sometimes, you wouldn't find two friends closer than the two of them. He admired both men greatly, even if he and Detective Williams didn't always see eye to eye. There was no doubting Danny's loyalty to Steve—Junior had witnessed it firsthand today, even in the way he had been so gentle and caring toward Callie. Danny had encouraged Callie to focus solely on Steve and allow him to run interference and handle everything—and everyone-else. He gave hourly updates to those in the waiting room, took phone calls from the governor and the press, and made sure Callie had everything she could possibly need or want. He was the one who made the dreaded call to Mary, telling her that she should probably make plans to come to Hawaii. He called Chin and Kono and told them the same thing. Hard as it was to think about, Steve was in critical condition. Injuries aside, the sepsis was ravaging his body.

Junior was jarred from his thoughts by a soft moan from the bed. He rose, but stayed where he was, watching and listening for more signs of distress. Steve moaned again and moved his head from side to side on the pillow. Seeing Steve visibly beginning to shiver, Junior quickly went to his bedside. Junior touched the commander's uninjured shoulder. "Sir? Steve?"

Steve opened his eyes lethargically, then closed them again as he continued to grimace and shiver.

"What's wrong?" Junior asked, trying to mask the fear in his voice.

"H-hurts," Steve whispered hoarsely, his voice shaking as his teeth chattered. "'M s-so…c-cold."

"Okay. You just hang on. I'm gonna get someone and we'll fix it, okay?" Junior said as he pressed the call button for the nurse. As he waited on the night nurse, Alicia, to come to the room, he gingerly put a hand to Steve's forehead and was shocked by the heat he felt there.

As Alicia rushed in, Steve's shivering seemed to be getting worse. "Shit," she cursed. "It's rigors. Go to the nurses' station and tell them I need warm blankets—several of them." She moved to the sink and filled a basin with tepid water, grabbing several washcloths. "His fever's at 104.4 and the rigors are going to drive it higher. We have to get it down now."

Junior did as he was told and brought the blankets, then gently touched Callie's arm. "Callie?" he said softly. "Steve needs you."

Callie was instantly awake. "Damn it," she breathed, taking in the sight before her as she stood at the bed. "Why can't he catch a break?"

"I know," Alicia agreed. "I'm trying to get it down, Dr. Ryan, but I'm having to use warm blankets to help the rigors. I'm calling Dr. Harper now too. His lungs sound bad."

Danny looked up anxiously at this. "What does that mean, Callie? It's time for the ventilator?"

Frowning, Callie nodded at Danny.

She slid behind Steve on the bed and pulled him against her, hoping to use her body heat both to warm and comfort him. Steve buried his face against her neck. "Don' feel good, Cal," he whispered, coughing.

"I know," she replied softly, holding him tight. "I know."

Wednesday Morning

"Danno!" Grace cried as she exited the elevator and rushed into the waiting room.

Danny stood and hugged his daughter tightly to his chest. "Oh, Monkey. I'm so glad you're back. I've missed you."

Grace had been at a cheer camp for the last week.

"How is Uncle Steve?"

"He's…ah," Danny cleared his throat, then started over. "He's pretty banged up, Monkey."

"But he's going to be fine, right? I mean, he's been banged up before…I mean, you had to give him part of your liver after he got shot. He got radiation poisoning from a dirty bomb and he's not letting it stop him…he's working just like he always has, he's running and swimming like always…"

The group watched the interaction with sympathy in their eyes.

"Grace, let's go sit down," Danny said, leading her to a pair of chairs in the corner.

Danny sighed and took Grace's hands in his own. "Grace…Uncle Steve went through a lot in Colombia. He has a lot of physical injuries, but he also has a major infection…something called sepsis. He's running a really high fever and feels pretty awful right now. He has pneumonia and an upper respiratory infection, which is just a fancy way of saying a really bad cold, I think, but he's really sick, Monkey. This infection, though, it's causing his organs to shut down. They…they decided to put him on a ventilator last night to take some of the stress off his lungs and allow him to rest."

The shock was evident on Grace's face. "Danno? Is he dying?"

"Monkey, he's fighting hard, but he has a long road ahead of him. They've got to get this infection under control, then he's facing several surgeries that are going to require a lot of physical therapy. He isn't going to be…himself…for a long time. His knee is just busted, Grace. He may never swim or run like he did before all this happened."

"Is he in a coma?"

"What?"

"Because of the ventilator. Did they put him into a medically induced coma or whatever? Or was he already in a coma?"

"No. They're keeping him on a bunch of sedatives to keep him comfortable, but he's not in a coma. He sleeps a lot, but when he's awake he knows what's going on around him and will listen. He responds sometimes. He can't talk, of course, but he'll write or shake his head or nod."

"Okay. I want to see him."

Danny flinched. He had known this was coming, but knew his daughter was not going to like his answer. "Grace, honey, I don't know…"

"Danno, I can handle it. I'm not a kid anymore. I understand everything that you said. I understand he's on a ventilator, I know he's sick, and I know he's going to look bad. It doesn't scare me. It's my Uncle Steve, Danno."

Grace's eyes were wide, honest, and had that puppy dog look that both she and his partner could do so well. He couldn't resist either one of them when they gave him that look.

"I still don't know, Grace. Callie's with him right now and I'm not sure if it's a good time...I don't know what she'll think about it."

"Can I talk to Aunt Callie then and see what she thinks? I'll do whatever she says would be best."

"That sounds like a good idea, Monkey. Let me get her."

Grace stood and hugged Callie as she came into the waiting room. Grace was already taller than Callie by a few inches, and this made Danny smile. Callie was tiny compared to Steve but seeing her with Grace reminded him that she was tiny compared to everyone. She was wearing a simple black t-shirt dress and pink Converses. Her long brown hair was in a loose side braid, and her face was free of makeup except for mascara and lip gloss. You could easily mistake her for a college student, Danny thought to himself.

"Hey, sweetie," Callie said as she returned Grace's hug.

"Aunt Callie," Grace said, clinging to the woman. "I hate this so much. It's not fair. He's been through too much already and now this."

Callie nodded in agreement. "I know. Your dad says you're wanting to see your Uncle Steve?" Her tone was neutral, leaving room for the girl to talk.

Grace led Callie to the chairs and sat down, still holding her hand as she faced her and began to speak. "I really do. I know it's going to be…hard to see him that way, but I want him to know I'm here. I understand everything Danno said. I know Uncle Steve is sick and hurting. I don't have to stay long….I just want him to know I'm here," she said again, shrugging her shoulders and looking at Callie hopefully. "I can handle it, I promise."

Callie nodded thoughtfully. "I know you can."

"Do you think Steve'll be okay with her seeing him like this?" Danny asked Callie quietly as they followed Grace to the hospital room.

Callie gave Danny a sad smile. "He's not really in a place where he's going to know, Danny. He's in and out so much." She stopped and put a hand on Danny's arm. "This may be the most conscious he's going to be for a while. I want her to have the chance to talk to him while he's at least somewhat coherent. I'm not going to deny her that."

Grace walked into the room and stopped in the doorway to take everything in. It was quiet and dark, the beeping of the machines low and constant. It was strange to see Steve, who was always moving, lying motionless in the bed.

Scott stood up from the chair he was occupying by the bed and smiled at Grace, giving her a quick side hug as she approached. "Talked Danno and Callie into it, huh, kid?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Good. Sit here, sweetheart. He has been asleep for a while, so he'll probably wake up soon. Talk to him."

Scott put a hand on her shoulder briefly, then moved to give her more space.

Grace sat down. She rubbed Steve's arm and then held his hand. "Hey, Uncle Steve," she said softly. "It's Gracie. I'm here." She lifted his hand and kissed the back of it.

Steve's eyes fluttered open.

"Hey!" Grace said with quiet excitement. He squeezed her hand weakly. His eyes slid shut again and remained that way for a minute before he forced them open again.

"It's okay," Grace told him. "You don't have to stay awake for me."

He shook his head slightly and motioned for the legal pad on the bedside table. She held the paper for him while he wrote with a marker—Awake. Eyes won't. He blindly handed the marker back to Grace as his eyes closed.

"Eyes won't stay open?" Grace inferred, smiling as she met Callie's eyes. Callie gave a tiny smile as well and moved to place a tender kiss on Steve's forehead. He opened his eyes for a second to gaze up at her and the trust and love Grace saw between the two of them made her melt a little.

"It's okay, babe," Callie smoothed her hand through his hair.

Steve nodded listlessly.

"So," Grace said, rubbing Steve's arm again. "Danno says you'll be out of here by the holidays. And I'll have a month off for Christmas break. I bet Callie will need to go back to work some by then. I can keep you company. We can eat pancakes and lounge around and watch Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel all day."

Steve managed to open his eyes long enough to roll them and Grace grinned.


End file.
